Page fault in nonpaged area: How To Fix The ‘Page Fault in Non-Paged Area’ Windows BSOD

How To Fix The ‘Page Fault in Non-Paged Area’ Windows BSOD

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

As BSODs go, PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA is as close as Windows comes to saying “invalid memory reference.” To really understand what’s going on, one needs to understand paged memory, which divides addressable memory space up into a collection of 4K-sized memory pages. The OS can address a very large number of pages, where only some of those pages will actually be resident in RAM. 

In most cases, when a program or the OS references a specific memory page, if it’s not resident in RAM, the page manager throws a “page fault” (page not present) status. Ultimately, this means the requested page gets read from the page file. To make room for something new if room is needed, an old memory page (one that hasn’t been accessed recently) will be swapped out to make room for the new page as it gets swapped in.

Certain pages that the OS uses frequently are “locked-in” to RAM. That is, they do not participate in memory paging and should always be present and available when requested. Windows refers to this memory allocation as the “Non-paged pool” and it appears as such in Task Manager, as shown below.

 The non-paged pool on a PC with 32 GB of physical RAM is only 951 MB. Windows allocates only the barest minimum to this collection of “locked-in” memory pages. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA BSOD signals a condition where the OS has requested a locked-in page, and gets a page fault instead. The reason why Microsoft handles this as a stop code and generates a BSOD is because this error is not supposed to occur, and it directly affects the operating system (only highly privileged, important memory pages get allocated into the non-paged pool). 

What Causes PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA? 

As described in the Microsoft Docs page for PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA, this particular stop code may follow after installation of what it calls “a faulty system service or faulty driver code.” By and large, system services come from Microsoft as part of OS releases, upgrades or updates. If they’re at fault, you’ll figure this out quickly because Microsoft will include this possibility in its “Known Issues” lists for such things. Likewise, there will be plenty of online traffic to report, document, and exclaim about such problems. 

While bad Windows updates do happen from time to time, the PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA code is far more likely to come from a faulty driver. To see if the problem is caused by a driver, note the file listed on the BSOD (ex: nvlddmkm.sys) and consider whether you’ve recently updated a driver or installed a new device.

How to Fix PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA BSODs 

When it comes to faulty system services, the best approach is to uninstall (or roll back from) the upgrade or update that caused the problem. If it came from a clean Windows install, it’s time to do another one, using a different (and known to be good and working) OS version instead. See our article on how to do a 30-minute repair reinstall of Windows.

If the problem comes from a driver, first check the device manufacturer’s website for a newer version of the driver. If so, download and install it. If not, try rolling back to a prior version. To roll back a driver:

1. Launch Device Manager. You can get there from the Windows + X menu. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Right click on the device in question and select properties. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Click the Roll Back Driver button. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

However, many devices won’t have the Roll Back Driver button enabled and, even then, it will only take you back one version. Otherwise, you’ll need to hunt for an older driver through the manufacturer’s site (or some reputable third-party source, such as the excellent French Station Drivers website). 

Look for Disk Problems 

Disk errors or specific problems with system files can also cause the PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA BSOD. In order to rule out or fix these issues:

1. Open a command prompt as administrator. You can get there by searching for cmd, right clicking and selecting Run as administrator.  

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Enter DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth to find and replace any damaged OS components. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Enter SFC /scannow to check for damaged system files. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

These aren’t the most likely cause of a Page Fault in NonPaged Area BSOD, but they are quick and easy steps you can take which may solve the problem. 

Memory Could Be a Cause of PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA BSODs 

Other potential causes for the PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA BSOD include memory problems. This might mean issues with RAM, L1 or L2 cache on the CPU chip itself, or even video RAM on a graphics card. Finding such issues requires a process of elimination. It’s easiest to check RAM, and more difficult to check CPU cache and video RAM. 

The free, open-source Memtest86+ utility is a good tool for checking PC RAM. I keep a bootable version of MemTest86+ on my Ventoy repair flash drive (it’s named mt531b. iso, to reflect the most current MemTest86+ version). Using the tool generally requires an overnight run, so I boot to the MemTest image just before I go to bed, and let it run all night so I can see what it’s doing (and finding). 

Malaysian logger Raymond.cc offers an interesting list of 6 free programs to check your video card memory for errors. I’m not aware of any tools that check CPU cache per se, though I did find an interesting StackOverflow item that uses DotNet libraries to come close.

If memory problems are indeed present and none of the other techniques I’ve described lead to solutions, keep your eyes peeled for related stop codes. These can help point you more directly at potential causes and fixes:

• SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
• KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
• MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
• IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL 

Ed Tittel is a long-time IT writer, researcher and consultant, and occasional contributor to Tom’s Hardware. A Windows Insider MVP since 2018, he likes to cover OS-related driver, troubleshooting, and security topics.

Topics

Windows

Operating Systems

How to Fix Windows 10 with a 30-Minute Repair Install

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Whether you’re trying to fix a BSOD such as a IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL or a CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error, serious Windows 10  troubleshooting is like plunging down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. At some point you may feel like you’ve taken on more than you can handle, you’re in a strange place, and the ultimate outcome is far from certain. That’s why I always keep track of the time I spend on troubleshooting, with a definite exit strategy in mind. Should the weeds get too thick to hack through, or the circumstances become too vexing or dire, that exit strategy will work to solve most problems that require troubleshooting in the first place.

For me – and I would suggest for most readers – the natural time limit on Windows troubleshooting is half an hour (30 minutes). Why? That’s about how long it takes to perform a special-purpose operating system repair that shoots most forms of Windows trouble. Especially if your problem (or problems) are software-related, this repair is quite likely to fix them. Simply put, it replaces ALL of the OS files on a Windows 10 PC but leaves other files, installed applications, and most (but not all) settings and preferences alone.

The In-Place Upgrade Repair Install 

It’s little-known and underappreciated, but one can install the same version of a Windows 10 OS onto an existing copy. This uses the Windows installation files in ISO format.

Creating a Windows Install ISO 

There are several ways to get a Windows 10 install ISO, but the easiest comes directly from Microsoft’s download page.

1. Download the Media Creation Tool by navigating to Microsoft’s Download Windows 10 page and clicking the button labeled “Download tool now” under the “Create Windows 10 installation media” heading.  

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The name of the software tool is MediaCreationTool.exe. I usually rename it to identify the version of Windows 10 it downloads. At any given point in time, the MCT grabs whatever version of Windows 10 is most current – right now that’s 21h2. So I renamed that file MediaCreationTool21h2.exe.

2. Launch the Media Creation Tool. It shows up in a window labeled “Windows 10 Setup” and makes you wait while it gets “a few things ready.”

3. Approve the license terms when prompted. 

4. Select “Create installation media…”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

5. Select the language, Edition and Architecture (ex: 64-bit) when prompted. 

6. Select ISO file when asked to choose the media you want to output to. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

By default this creates a file named Windows.iso; as before I name mine Windows21h2.iso so I can identify the version later on. This process takes a while. On my 2016 vintage i7 Skylake PC, it takes around 5 minutes to download and process the necessary data, and leave the ISO file behind in its designated storage location. After the download is complete, the MCT verifies the file structure (this is included in the 5-minute timeframe). When it’s complete it will show you the full path where the new ISO file now resides, like this: 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

7. Click the “Finish” button and MCT will tidy up after itself and then close (this happens in less than 5 seconds on my PC: YMMV).

Performing the In-place Repair Upgrade Install 

Established best practice dictates a bit of preparation before you start this operation. You’ll want to save any work, and close all open applications. If you have external storage devices attached to your PC, you’ll want to “safely remove them” so they can’t impact or interfere with repairs. 

If your issues are related to the boot/system drive, many experts think it’s useful to disconnect or dismount all other internal storage devices as well. I’ve never bothered with this when performing this repair on most of my PCs, and it hasn’t affected the outcome as far as I can tell. But if you are dealing with boot or start-up issues, this could be helpful. You’ll need your mouse, monitor and keyboard, though, so please leave all of them attached as usual.

One more thing: before making major system changes (and this maneuver DEFINITELY counts as such) it’s always a good idea to make an image backup of your PC if you don’t have a recent copy. I make one every morning at 9:00 AM as a scheduled task in Macrium Reflect so I don’t usually do this (unless it’s late in the day). Be sure to have a bootable recovery disk handy that can restore your PC in case the OS drive goes south, and know how to use it for that purpose

1. Navigate to your newly-created ISO file in Explorer.

2. Right-click the file and select “Mount” from the resulting pop-up menu (if Mount does not appear, click Open, and then open with File Explorer). Either way, a new virtual device labeled “DVD drive” will appear in Explorer. It should look something like the item labeled DVD Drive (P:) ESD-ISO shown next. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

After all this effort, starting the in-place upgrade repair install is dead simple. 

3. Double-click the setup-exe file on the mounted ISO.

This starts an upgrade to its local version of Windows. It will systematically replace every operating system file (and move the previous version to a Windows.old folder to which you can roll back if you like (Start ? Settings ? Update & Security ? Recovery ? Go back to the previous version of Windows 10/click the “Get Started” button).

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Notice that my PC was last updated more than 10 days ago, so it doesn’t have that option (but then, I have this morning’s image backup and my Rescue Media handy).

Once you fire off setup.exe, it’s just like all other Windows upgrades. It starts off with downloading and manipulating a set of files for the new OS version, while the old OS keeps running. Then you’re asked to reboot your PC, after which a Windows Preinstallation Environment, aka WinPE, takes over to handle the rest of the install process, during which at least two more reboots will occur. Eventually, you’ll have a repaired OS at your disposal. Hopefully, the trouble you’ve been trying to shoot will also be cleared away, as if by magic.

What Can’t an In-Place Upgrade Repair Install Fix? 

This process takes such a short amount of time to complete, I’ve made it a part of my standard troubleshooting sequence. Unless I’m troubleshooting hardware or device driver issues – which this repair may not fix if it’s driver related, and can’t fix if it’s hardware-caused – I’ve found this repair to be as close to a “silver bullet” for handling pesky or complex Windows problems as it ever gets. And because it doesn’t take too long to give it a try, you won’t be that far behind the curve even if it doesn’t work. My own experience is that this repair handles 90-plus percent of the problems I run into and can’t fix in less than half an hour. Hopefully, your experience will be the same! 

Ed Tittel is a long-time IT writer, researcher and consultant, and occasional contributor to Tom’s Hardware. A Windows Insider MVP since 2018, he likes to cover OS-related driver, troubleshooting, and security topics.

How to Fix IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Errors in Windows 10

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

One of the more common Windows stop codes is named IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. This cryptic-seeming name refers to an Interruption ReQuest Line (IRQL) that PCs use to signal events in urgent need of attention or response. In fact, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (sometimes referred to as just “IRQL”) is typically a memory related error that occurs if a system process or a device driver seeks access to a memory address for which it lacks valid access rights. Memory allocations for processes usually have an upper bound address, so the “NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL” part refers to an attempt to access an address outside (greater than) that boundary value.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

What Happens When the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Error Occurs?

This error triggers an OS stop, which causes Windows to crash and triggers what’s often called a Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD. Windows displays a stop screen, while it’s collecting forensics data in the background. When that collection phase ends, the PC reboots by default (unless you’ve changed settings to instruct it to shut down instead). This BSOD is shown as the lead-in graphic for this story.

Most Common Causes for the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Error

When this error is triggered, there are numerous potential causes that may be worth investigating. Your best bet is to think about what on your PC has changed recently. The list of potential causes includes:

●      Corrupt system files: These are best addressed using the DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth command (run at an administrative command prompt or in an administrative PowerShell session). If this command finds anything to report, run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth to clean things up. Next, run the system file checker until it reports nothing found or fixed (this sometimes takes 2 or 3 iterations) by typing SFC /SCANNOW. If it works, this will often fix the IRQL error as well.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

●      Incompatible device drivers: if you’ve recently updated a driver, try rolling it back to the prior version. You can do this by opening the Device Manager (available when you hit Win + X), right clicking on the device in question, selecting Properties, navigating to the Driver tab and hitting the “Roll Back Driver” button. If the button is grayed out, you may have to uninstall the current driver and install the previous version manually.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

●      Faulty hardware: if a device is malfunctioning or failing, you’ll usually see error reports in Reliability Monitor, which you run by typing perfmon /rel in the Run box, at a command prompt, or in PowerShell.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The best thing you can do with a failing or malfunctioning device is to disconnect it from the PC (though for important devices – e.g. mouse, keyboard, disk drive, and so forth – you may also have to replace the ailing device with a known good working instance).

●      Damaged or incomplete software installation: If you’ve recently installed an application or update, look in Reliability Monitor for installation failure messages (for updates and upgrades these will also appear in Update History). In such cases, your best bet is to uninstall the problem software and see if the problem goes away.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Graphics Drivers Often Cause IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Errors

I’ve seen the IRQL error on more than half-a-dozen occasions in my 6-plus years of working with Windows 10. In all but one instance, the cause was a buggy Nvidia GeForce graphics driver. In all of those cases, by rolling back to the preceding version, I stopped the IRQL error dead in its tracks.

That’s why I don’t remove duplicate Nvidia graphics drivers from my Windows PCs until the new one has run without problems for a couple of weeks. The excellent GitHub project DriverStore Explorer is great at performing such cleanups, when the time comes. Don’t be too quick to make such cleanups, and you’ll leave the rollback option open to yourself, should you need it.

Try a Clean Boot

If the preceding suggested repairs provide no relief from IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL errors, a Windows 10 clean boot should be your next step. A clean boot starts Windows 10 with the barest minimum set of drivers and startup programs. It seeks to eliminate possible causes of trouble that have been added to the startup environment over time.

 To perform a clean boot:

1. Launch the msconfig System Configuration utility. You can get there by hitting WinKey+R and entering “msconfig.”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Uncheck Load startup items in the General Tab under the Selective Startup setting. This disables all startup items currently present on this PC.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Navigate to the Services tab, click the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox at lower left, then click “Disable all.” This disables all non-Microsoft (mostly OS) services on this PC. You can now click OK to close the window.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Your PC is now set up for a clean boot, so you’ll want to restart to try further troubleshooting. This may allow you to replace or reinstall otherwise problematic or reluctant drivers, applications, updates and so forth. When you’ve finished your troubleshooting, you must then go back and reverse all changes.

If you’ve already disabled some startup items in Task Manager, for example, you might want to make a screenshot to capture the list of disabled items before you disable those still active. That way you’ll know what to leave alone when you put things back the way they used to be.

Troubleshooting non-Windows Services

If your troubleshooting leads you to suspect non-Windows services are involved in the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error, you need to conduct a process of elimination to identify the culprit (or culprits). This means turning on 3rd-party services in groups. Shawn Brink at Tenforums.com recommends a binary search technique in his clean boot tutorial. This works pretty well, and helps you zero in quickly. I sometimes do things in groups by vendor (Chrome, Nvidia, Intel, and so forth) and that seems to work well, too.

See Who Else is GETTING IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Errors

If you visit TenForums.com, BleepingComputer.com Answers.Microsoft.com or the Tom’s Hardware forums and search for IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and you will see how often the error has been reported lately as there may be a new driver or update wreaking havoc. You will also get some very good ideas on how others have approached diagnosis of the underlying cause, and what fixes they’ve applied.

It’s especially helpful to read through fixes that claim success because these might work for you, too. On the other hand, unsuccessful fixes can be informative, too, because they tell you which repairs to try later rather than sooner (or not at all).

Ed Tittel is a long-time IT writer, researcher and consultant, and occasional contributor to Tom’s Hardware. A Windows Insider MVP since 2018, he likes to cover OS-related driver, troubleshooting, and security topics.

Topics

Windows

Operating Systems

How to Fix a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION BSOD in Windows

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

If you get a Blue Screen of Death with the stop code SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, there could be many causes, though a bad driver is always a likely culprit. The usual bug check code that goes with a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION is 0x3B. Interestingly, the numeric code has numerous (7!) associations in the Microsoft Error Lookup Tool , so this one is best researched using the text-based stop code by itself, or in combination with the numeric code. Microsoft’s bug check page for this error provides this explanation for its cause: “This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.” 

File System Fix For SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

Microsoft also notes on the bug check page for SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION  that “If a driver that is responsible for the error can be identified, its name is printed on the blue screen…” Indeed, I’ve personally experienced this error with the Windows 10 NTFS file system driver (Ntfs.sys) identified as the culprit. This identification is a mixed blessing, because it does tell you some kind of file system error occurred. That said, one cannot and should not replace OS-level drivers for Windows as one might do for a device driver of some kind.

Such repairs are best left to the DISM and SFC commands. Thus, my first response to the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION  stop code after a reboot would be to run these commands in an administrative Command Prompt or PowerShell session:

Dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

SFC /scannow

The first command will find and replace any corrupted or missing files in the Windows Component Store (usually C:\Windows\WinSxS). The second command will examine all Windows system files (SFC stands for System File Checker, in fact) and replace any damaged or missing files it identifies. The afore-cited DISM command usually takes 3-5 minutes to complete, and the SFC command can take longer (especially if it makes any repairs). If SFC finds and fixes errors, repeat that same command until you get a clean bill of health in its final follow-up:

If SFC finds and fixes corrupt files, keep running the command until it reports “…did not find any integrity violations.” Here, it took only two tries to achieve that state.  (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Using the Driver Verifier Tool to Fix SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

Windows 10 and Windows 11 both include a built-in driver verification tool named verifier.exe. It resides in the C:\Windows\System32 folder (where Windows keeps many of its admin and repair tools). Drivers are indeed often involved in the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION error because they belong to the class of Windows code elements allowed to access protected system code (along with OS components themselves, of course). Pretty much any device driver can provoke this error, so it’s not uncommon to see it pop up when you install new hardware, or plug in some kind of removable storage device (usually through a USB or Thunderbolt port).

If the previous system repairs (DISM and SFC) don’t dispel the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION BSOD, the Windows Driver Verifier may be able to help you identify the culprit that’s causing this BSOD to occur. This tool comes with a warning: be sure to create a current image backup for your PC before using it, because the verifier checks all device drivers and intentionally causes a BSOD when it finds a driver that cannot be verified or is corrupt or damaged. 

The information you seek should show up in the crash dump that gets written when a BSOD occurs. That crash dump will either occupy a file named memory.dmp or minidump.dmp. The former resides in the Windows root, usually C:\Windows. The latter resides in C:\Windows\Minidump. I wholeheartedly recommend using Nir Sofer’s BlueScreenView tool for viewing and inspecting crash dumps. It will happily target either of those crash dump files, and tell you what’s what. 

Turning Driver Verifier On

1. Enter “verifier.exe” at an administrative Command Prompt or PowerShell This will open the Driver Verifier Manager program.

2. Click Next and leave the default setting, “Create standard settings” in place.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3.  Select “Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer.” If you’d rather focus on a list of drivers by name, click “Select driver names from a list” instead. Either way, click Next to continue.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Unless you want to let your computer take hours testing possibly hundreds of drivers, I have some tips for narrowing this list down and picking suspect drivers from the list.

Tip A: Use DriverStore Explorer to Get Driver Names and Info

A free GitHub project called DriverStore Explorer offers a handy focused software tool for inspecting and managing Windows drivers. I used it on my test system to confirm it had over 200 drivers present, and to clean up enough of the old ones to bring that count down to a “mere” 195. This shows that selecting all drivers can involve a huge number of checks and take a great deal of time. Thus, I tend to concentrate on drivers by name using DriverStore Explorer and focus on drivers by category (e.g. Network adapters, Human Interface Devices, Display adapters, and so forth).

Tip B: Restrict Driver Checks to Suspect Categories or Items, When Possible

Let’s say I just switched from the Lenovo OEM video driver to the Intel DCH video driver on my test PC, after which the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION error started up. DriverStore Explorer tells me the name of that driver is iigd_dch.inf, so that’s the one I want to check for a close match in Driver Verifier Manager’s driver list. Usually igd is shorthand for “Intel graphics driver,” so I choose the item named igdkm64.sys.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

4. Click Finish to proceed through your checks. Next you’ll see a warning from Driver Verifier Manager that you must restart your PC to start running its driver checks.

5. Click OK,  restart your PC, and you’re on your way! When the system reboots, it may take a little longer to get through the boot-up sequence, as Driver Verifier Manager does its thing. Be patient. As Driver Verifier Manager finds unsigned or suspect drivers it will cause BSODs.

6. Record any bluescreen messages that pop up (it’s handy to snap them with a smartphone), so you can investigate later.

Any BSODs will need subsequent investigation, and should prompt certain actions. In most cases, replacing or upgrading drivers identified in crash dumps after using Driver Verifier will set your system back to rights.

If you find yourself stuck in a boot loop (repeated BSODs that Driver Verifier is causing), you’ll need to boot into Safe Mode (insert link). Then you can access Driver Verifier (type verifier into the Command Prompt or PowerShell). Once you’re into the Driver Verifier Manager UI, choose “Delete existing settings,” then click Finish. After your next restart, your self-induced BSODs will stop.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Beyond the Driver Verifier, It’s Last-Ditch Repairs

If you still can’t get out of the BSOD loop, you may need to take more drastic measures. Restore the OS image you created as a precautionary backup, and you will be back where you started. On the other hand, you could try a 30-minute repair reinstall of WIndows or, if that’s not enough, choose to reset Windows entirely which is the same as a clean install. The last two are obviously maneuvers of last resort.

Ed Tittel is a long-time IT writer, researcher and consultant, and occasional contributor to Tom’s Hardware. A Windows Insider MVP since 2018, he likes to cover OS-related driver, troubleshooting, and security topics.

Topics

Windows

Operating Systems

8 Powerful Methods to Fix PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA Error

Have you ever experienced PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA error? Do you know why it occurs and how to solve PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA? Read this article, you can figure out the reasons for the problem and then solve it.

PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA is also called PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA error, and it has an error code 0x00000050, which can be called bug check 0x50. It will cause BSOD, which is pretty annoying.

The Reasons for PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA

What is NONPAGED AREA? As an area of memory, NONPAGED AREA concludes data that is very important to the operation of the system. The data is stored in RAM all the time because NONPAGED AREA always needs the data, and the data don’t need to exchange between RAM and page file.

Tip: If you lose important data due to PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA error, then you can use MiniTool software to recover lost data.

PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA is one of the Blue Screen of Death errors, and the occurrence of this error may be caused by several reasons. I will list some of the reasons below.

1. The nonpaged area contains important data for system operation. This error occurs when Windows cannot find the data that should be stored in the nonpaged area.
2. PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA error also occurs when the wrong system service or the wrong driver code is installed on the computer.
3. 0x00000050 error can occur if there are faulty hardware or hardware problems on the computer (RAM is corrupted or there is a damaged sector on the hard disk).
4. Antivirus software and corrupted NTFS volumes can also cause this error to occur.

After knowing what might cause PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA error, do you know how to fix it?

How to Fix PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA Error?

When PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA error occurs, the first thing you need to do is to restart your PC and log in, then you may find that everything goes well and this error does not occur again.

However, if the BSOD occurs again and again, then you should try the following methods.

In order to avoid the PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA error occurs while fixing this problem, you’d better enter safe mode in advance.

Quick Video Guide:

Free Download | Win Free Download | Mac

Solution 1: Check Your Disk For Errors

Sometimes, the Page Fault In Nonpaged Area can occur due to an error on your disk. In this case, the Windows Snap-in tool comes in handy to check the disk for errors. So, follow the below steps to learn how to do so:

Step 1: To commence that, enter «cmd» in the search box, then right-tap the «Command Prompt» and select «Run as administrator».

Step 2: Now, type the command: chkdsk C: /f /r (C is the letter of the disk where you store your OS) and hit Enter to continue.

Step 3: In a while, you can reboot your PC to see whether the error has been resolved.

Solution 2: Run Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool

To fix the Windows stop code page_fault_in_nonpaged_area error, you can also try running the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. Below are the steps to help you learn how to use the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool to fix the error:

Step 1: Enter «memory diagnostic» in the search bar and then tap on «Windows Memory Diagnostic» to continue with the process.

Step 2: Click on the «Restart now and check for problems (recommended)».

Step 3: Wait until the PC find the issues. Once the scan is complete, the system will show the detected problem on your screen.

If no problem is detected, then try out the following methods.

Solution 3: Close Fast Startup

Fast Startup reduces Windows startup time. However, this feature might cause numerous blue or black screen problems on your Windows PC. Therefore, turning off the Fast Startup feature can help you fix the startup problems, which include Page Fault In Nonpaged Area. You can try this method only when you can boot up your PC normally or you can boot into safe mode.

Below is the quick guide to boot into Safe Mode:

Step 1: Boot into «WinPE» via two consecutive failed attempts to start Windows/installed media.

Step 2: To boot into safe mode, go to «Troubleshoot»>» Advanced Options»>» Startup Settings». In a while, press the F5 to select the «Enable Safe Mode with Networking» option.

Now, you can turn off the Fast Startup feature by following the below steps:

Step 1: Tap the «Start» button and click the «Settings» icon.

Step 2: Select «System»>» Navigate to Power & Sleep». After then, tap «Additional Power Settings».

Step 3: Click «Choose what the power button does» at the upper left corner.

Step 4: Click «Change settings that are currently unavailable». After then, uncheck «Tap on fast startup» and click the «Save changes» button.

Solution 4: Increase Virtual Memory

To fix the Windows stop code page_fault_in_nonpaged_area error, you can try increasing the virtual memory. Below is how to increase virtual memory:

Step 1: First, you need to launch the setting window of the virtual memory.

• Open «File Explorer». Right-tap «This PC» and choose «Properties».
• Choose «Advanced System Settings». In the «Performance» box Under Advanced Page of System Properties, click «Settings».
• Go to the «Advanced» page in the pop-up «Performance Options» window and click «Change» in the Virtual Memory box.

Step 2: Turn off automatic paging file size management.

• Uncheck «Automatically manage paging file size for all drives».
• Choose partition C and check «No paging file» and then click «Set» to save it.
• Click «Yes».

Step 3: Set an appropriate virtual memory on a non-system partition.

• Choose a non-system partition and then check ‘Custom Size».
• Set the same value in «Initial Size» and «Maximum Size» to avoid the system frequently requesting page files of different sizes.
• Click «Set»>» Ok» to save.

Solution 5: Update Device Drivers

If drivers have compatibility issues, then you could encounter Windows page fault in Nonpaged error. To fix the error, you can try updating device drivers. Of course, this method is applicable when your PC can boot normally or you can boot into Safe Mode.

Below is the quick guide on how to update device drives:

Step 1: To commence the process, press the «Windows + X» keys and choose «Device Manager».

Step 2: Expand the right directory to locate the culprit driver. After then, you need to right-tap the driver and select «Update Driver».

Step 3: Choose «Search automatically for updated driver software» in the pop-up window.

Solution 6: Disable Automatically Manage Paging File Size for All Drives

If you have tried the solution 4, then you already know how to disable automatically manage paging file size for all drives. It could be the case that virtual memory is causing the error on your Windows PC. And disabling the automatically manage paging file size for all drives could help you fix the problem. To learn how to do so, follow Step 1 & Step 2 of Solution 4.

Solution 7: Repair System Files

It could be the cause that Windows stop code page_fault_in_nonpaged_area error is due to damaged system files. If yes, then you can use built-in utility tools such as SFC (System File Checker) or DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management» to repair system files.

Below is how to repair corrupted system files:

Step 1: Open the command prompt on your computer. To do so, enter «cmd» in the search box, then right-tap the «Command Prompt» and select «Run as administrator».

Step 2: If you can’t, then try boot into WinRE and then launch Command Prompt. After then, type the command: sfc /scannow to run SFC scan.

Step 3: If the SFC scan doesn’t work for you, then try the following the command to use the DISM tool:

• exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
• exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

This will restore system files.

Solution 8: Reset this PC

If none of the above methods help you fix the error, then it’s time to reset your PC.

Step 1: Open the «Settings» page on the computer and then, click «Update & Security».

Step 2: Click «Recovery» and then, click «Get Started».

Step 3: Select whether to «Keep my files» or «Remove Everything» while resetting the PC.

Step 4: Follow the instructions to continue.

Part 3: How to recover unsaved or lost date due to page_fault_in_nonpaged_area error?

Have you ended up losing some important files due to stop code page_fault_in_nonpaged_area on your Windows 10 PC? No worries!! With the help of Recoverit Data Recovery, getting back unsaved or lost data on the computer is easier and quicker. You can use this powerful data recovery software to rescue any type of file — photos, videos, documents, etc.

Free Download | Win Free Download | Mac

As soon as you realize you lost your important data, get Recoverit Data Recovery on your computer and then follow the below steps to recover the lost files in three steps:

Step 1: Select a location

Open Recoverit Data Recovery on the computer and then select a target location that you want to scan for the lost data. Then, hit the «Start» button to continue.

Step 2: Scan the location

Now, the software will initiate an all-round scan to scan the selected location for the missing, deleted, or unsaved files on the computer.

Step 3: Preview and recover data

After the scan completes, you can preview the recoverable files. Then, select the target files you want to recover and hit on the «Recover» button to get them back. And finally, you just need to select the location where you want to save the recovered data.

The Bottom Line

So, you now know how to fix Windows stop code page_fault_in_nonpaged_area error. As you can see that there are several solutions to help you fix the error, so no need to panic if you encounter the error. Just try the above methods one by one until the error is resolved. Of course, don’t forget to use Recoverit Data Recovery to rescue your lost or unsaved data with ease.

Free Download | Win Free Download | Mac

SOLVED: Windows 10 Page Error in Nonpaged Area Windows 10 Boot Loop (STOP 0x00000050)

Windows 10 BSOD Page Error in Nonpaged Area STOP 0x00000050 occurs when any hardware or software is not properly using PC memory that is normally reserved for operating system. This means that when Windows tries to access memory to perform a function to change something in the operating system, it detects that software or hardware is using that instead, causing a virtual crash. In this post, we discussed more about this BSOD error and 10 working solutions to get rid of it « PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA ‘ blue screen

Message content: —

What is a page fault in a nonpaged area?

Error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA means that your computer requested a memory page to continue and that page was not available. As a result, Windows was unable to continue the processes and as a result, your computer will crash and display the blue screen of death.

‘ Your computer has encountered a problem and needs to be restarted. We’re just collecting error information and then we’ll restart it. . (100% Completed) ‘

page error in nonpaged area Windows 10 boot loop

According to Microsoft , there are many reasons why this could happen, but most incidents involve updating drivers or installing new hardware that resides in memory normally used for basic OS functions. Antivirus is also notorious for causing these kinds of errors, such as RAM failure, corrupted NTFS volume, and more.

How to fix page error in nonpaged area windows 10

As usual page error in nonpaged area error may appear temporarily and Windows may resolve it automatically after a system restart. But if this problem appears frequently, it will be a big problem and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. If you see a Blue Screen of Death error, don’t worry, we have some tips on how to fix this error.

Check the stability of your computer in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a built-in troubleshooting feature that disables unnecessary drivers and programs during the boot process. In Windows 10 Safe Mode, a minimal set of system files and device drivers are loaded into the operating system — just enough to load the Windows OS. Safe mode does not start startup programs, add-ons, etc.

For Windows 7, restart Windows, press F8 at startup, and select Safe Boot Mode.

Safe Mode For Windows 10 or Windows 8.1

Because of this blue screen If your system cannot start Read How to boot your computer in safe mode.

If the system starts, press Windows+R when the dialog box opens. Type «msconfig» and press Enter to open the system configuration settings.

On the Boot tab, select (Check) the Secure Boot option and click OK. and restart your computer. This will start your system in safe mode.

Change memory dump setting

Sometimes a memory issue can cause this error message to appear ‘ Your computer has experienced a problem and needs to restart page error in the nonpaged area of ​​the window 10 BSOD error . Let’s change the memory settings to solve this problem.

Change memory dump setting

To change the memory dump setting in System Properties: Press Windows + R to load the Run dialog box. Now type « control sysdm.cpl ” And press Enter. Then go to the Advanced tab and click on Startup and Recovery Settings.

Here, uncheck «Automatic restart» in the «Write debug information» section. Select «Full Memory Dump» from the drop-down menu. And click «Apply» and «OK». A reboot may be required.
Restart your computer and you’re done.

Uninstall any recently installed applications

If the error started to appear immediately after installing an application or installing a new driver. Then there is a possibility that this new program may cause an error. for this you need to uninstall the program and then evaluate your system.
First, make sure you have administrator rights to make changes or remove any application.

To do this, follow the steps below. First, open Control Panel All Control Panel Items Programs and Features.
now select the newly installed application and click uninstall.

Restart windows and check. If you are still having a problem with your PC and need to restart Windows 10 blue screen issue, follow the next step.

Make sure your Windows has the latest updates

Make sure your Windows system has the latest service packs and other updates. Necessary patches and service packs are regularly released by Microsoft for their operating systems to fix the bug and other types of issues. These updates and patches are also used to resolve the BSOD problem. Make sure your hardware drivers are up to date: sometimes an outdated or corrupted system driver can generate a blue screen of death error. This error is directly related to the hardware or driver, so updating your system drivers may fix the cause of the STOP error.

To check for the latest updates for your system, type update in the Start menu and select Check for Updates. when the windows update screen opens, select «Check for Updates» or if any updates are available, download and install them.

Update/reinstall a corrupted or incompatible driver

The most common cause of many BSOD errors, including a page fault in the nonpaged area of ​​Windows 10, is a corrupted or incompatible driver. An incompatibility is most likely if you recently upgraded your OS to Windows 10. Drivers can also get corrupted for no apparent reason.

To check if the error is caused by a failed drive, run an automatic driver update or manually update the drivers to the latest available versions. Install the latest drivers for any newly installed hardware. If no new hardware has been installed, make sure you have the latest drivers for the devices listed below.

• Video card
• Network card or router (if any)
• Any removable or external drive

To update the driver manually, follow these steps: Click the search box on the Start menu. Type in the search box “ Device Manager ” and press the enter key. when «Device Manager» is open here, you will find all active devices. You just need to find the device marked in yellow.

Right-click «Device», select «Update Driver» and follow the instructions to get driver updates. if you don’t find any updates for the driver, you can uninstall it from here. Download the best driver for your specific device from the manufacturer’s website and install. Repeat these steps for all drivers you want to update.

Download the driver from the manufacturer’s website

Using Device Manager to update drivers is easy, but it may not be the best solution. According to users, Device Manager does not always download the latest drivers. Therefore, if you want to install the latest drivers, it is recommended that you download the required drivers manually. To do this, simply visit the hardware manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your device. Users have reported issues with the Atheros wireless driver, so update that driver first and then move on to other drivers.

Repair corrupted system files with SFC Utility

After running the DISM command, if this problem persists, don’t worry, Windows has a built-in system file checker tool that we can use to scan the system for potentially corrupted files. This tool will detail and potentially repair any unexpected damage, returning the system to a good working condition.

To run the System File Checker, first open a command prompt. To do this, click Start, type Command Prompt or cmd in the search box, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, enter the password or click Allow.

At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
sfc /scannow

sfc /scannow The command will scan all protected system files and replace the corrupted files with the cached copy that is located in the compressed folder in %WinDir %system32dllcache.

This command may take some time to complete. Do not close the command prompt window until the verification is 100% complete. Recommended: How to repair corrupted or corrupted Windows 10/8.1 9 system files0004

 chkdsk /f 

 chkdsk /f